Ultrasonic probe assemblies having the ultrasonic transducer arranged for insertion into a body cavity (i.e. prostate probes, esophageal probes, vaginal probes) are in widespread use. Typically, the ultrasonic transducer, the transducer mount mechanism and the motor which imparts scanning movement to the ultrasonic transducer are housed at one end of an endoscope. Power to the motor and electrical signals, from which the image is developed, are conducted along wires extending through the endoscope. In addition, for those ultrasonic probe assemblies arranged for multi-plane scanning, the cables by which the scan plane of the ultrasonic transducer is changed mechanically extend through the endoscope to the transducer mount mechanism from a control remote from the transducer mount mechanism.
It is apparent that the sizes of the ultrasonic transducer, the transducer mount mechanism and the scanning motor dictate the size of the housing inserted into the body cavity Often, the size of this housing is too large for the desired applications of the ultrasonic probe assembly.